John Cena Speaks On 10 Years In WWE, Being A Role Model, Future Plans, HHH & Lawler Appear at SmackDown, WWE Working on Metallica for SummerSlam, Hall of Shame, More on WWE’s Main Event, HBK a Fan of Dolph Ziggler, Batista’s Announcement

June 28, 2012
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John Cena celebrates ten years on the WWE roster today. On June 27, 2002, he answered an open challenge from Kurt Angle, kicking off a championship filled career. Cena reflects on his decade of destruction in an interview with WWE.com.

Recalling his debut match against Angle, Cena stated, “Literally, I just needed to get through the curtain. I was in shambles that whole day. First, I was told I was going to have a match at 4:00 that afternoon. Then, I was told that I needed to get my hair cut, and I was sent offsite to get that done. I made it back just in time, and everyone was flipping their lid. Randy Orton had tied my boots to a locker in the Allstate Arena [laughs], and basically, I had a giant smile on my face when I got to go through the curtain … because I knew I could no longer be messed with [laughs].”

When asked which moments most spring to mind when looking back at his ten years as a WWE Superstar, he does not name one. Rather, “To be honest … being able to say that I make a living doing this has been the greatest experience in these 10 years. It’s pretty spectacular.”

Cena admits that when he started his career, he did not imagine that children would look up to him as a role model.

“If you look at who I was four, six years ago, I was pretty racy. I was the king of “pipe bombs” before “pipe bombs” were invented. I consciously knew our product, I consciously saw our audience, and I made a decision that I’d live my life by a certain set of ideals, that I was just going forward in this direction. Whoever was with me was with me, and we’d go from there. It ended up being a good deal,” he says. “I’m very flattered when I meet parents – whether it’s Make-A-Wish or parents with their kids on the street – and they’re like, “Hey, thanks for letting us watch WWE. You’re a very good role model. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Cena also revealed that he has his sights set on breaking Ric Flair’s record number of of World Championship reigns.

“I know the number 16 is put on a pedestal, and I’m quite a ways away from that. But that would be something to shoot for,” he says. “And when or if 16 happens, or number 17 happens, then 20 becomes the number to shoot for. That’s what I love about doing this.”

Cena is asked, “Would you say that, 10 years later, you’re still just getting started? What do you think about the next 10 years?”

He responds, “I’d say that I’m here [laughs]. I truly know myself, and I try so hard to understand every aspect of WWE every day. There isn’t a day that goes by in WWE that I am not learning something new about this company. So after 10 years, as far as me learning, I’m just getting started. There’s always something to learn.”

– WWE did two off-camera segments during last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings in Evansville, Indiana. The first saw Jerry Lawler interrupt a post-match promo by Jack Swagger. Lawler came out to a big reaction from the crowd and hit Swagger with a fistdrop from the second rope.

The other segment saw David Otunga hang around in the ring after his match to pose and show off. Triple H came out and hit a Pedigree, sending Otunga out of the ring. Booker T then hit Otunga and ended the segment with a Spin-a-rooni in the ring.

– WWE’s website has named their inaugural Hall of Shame class – John Laurinaitis, The Miz, Michael Cole and Batista.

– F4Wonline.com confirms that WWE is working on a deal to get Metallica to perform at this year’s SummerSlam pay-per-view from Los Angeles. They likely would be performing for Triple H’s entrance.

Batista and his manager John Ryan Jr. continue to tease an announcement. Ryan wrote last night:

“For all you @DaveBautista who have been waiting for the announcement you are going to be VERY happy with us,Haters are gonna kill themselves”

– Shawn Michaels did a Q&A with fans on Twitter last night during the season two premiere of his MacMillan River Adventures show. Michaels managed to get #MRA trending worldwide and noted that it was the first Outdoor Channel show to trend worldwide. Shawn revealed that Steve Austin’s episode will air this year while the episode with Jim Ross won’t air until next year.

Shawn was asked who he feels has potential to be a big Superstar in WWE. He says he watches little WWE these days but has always liked Dolph Ziggler. Shawn also called CM Punk a nice guy and said Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam “should be good.”

– While sources reported that WWE’s new Main Event TV show will be a step up from Superstars with top talents and storylines, Bryan Alvarez reports that Main Event will essentially be WWE Superstars with a new name. WWE will likely tape Main Event and Superstars before RAW and SmackDown when Main Event begins in October.